Serving up great food since 2001

Category Archives: make ahead meals

When I was in cooking school in Mexico, we went to Taxco, the “silver city” often. I had also been there many times when I was growing up. The hillside town has silver mines and many silversmiths catering to shoppers. With every visit we would go to the Pozolerias for lunch or dinner. If we were lucky, we would be there on a Thursday we could get the Pozole Verde (green). On other days there was Pozole Rojo (red) and Blanco (white). Traditionally Pozole was made with pork. I know this is gross, but back when the Aztecs were sacrificing humans, they even used human flesh and later, pork tasted more like human flesh. Over the centuries it has developed into a regional stew with pork, chicken or even vegetarian ingredients.

Pozole is the Mexican name for treated corn, also known in the US as hominy. Since maize was a sacred plant for the Aztecs and other inhabitants of Mesoamerica, pozole was made to be consumed on special occasions. The conjunction of maize (usually whole hominy kernels) and meat in a single dish is of particular interest to scholars, because the ancient Americans believed the gods made humans out of masa (cornmeal dough).

This recipe is for the rojo pozole with chicken and it includes home made stock as well as an abundance of dried chiles. In this case I used ancho and guajillo which make a rich and delicious stew.

While this recipe is developed for the Instant Pot, it can also be made in a dutch oven or pasta pot. The cooking time will be much longer.

A note about the hominy/pozole: This can be made with canned hominy, but I suggest you take the time to soak and make your own. It will have much better texture and flavor. You can buy prepared hominy by Rancho Gordo, however, it is smaller than the kind purchased in Hispanic Markets or the kind you will make yourself. Both will need to be soaked over night and cooked in the stock for about 30-50 minutes in the IP. If you are cooking in a regular pot it will take 2-4 hours depending on the kind you are using. The Rancho Gordo Hominy takes less cooking time because of the size of the kernels. If you really want the original flavor you can buy large heirloom corn from Anson Mills (my favorite heirloom provider) and make your own. It is an extra step, but well worth the effort. Directions can be found here: How to make Hominy from Corn.

Ingredients:

Chicken stock made from a whole chicken

Breast and thigh meat from the chicken, reserved

2 cups of dry hominy soaked for 8-10 hours

6 ounces each of dried Ancho and Guajillo chiles

1 onion cut in large chunks

8 cloves of peeled and smashed garlic

1 tablespoon of Mexican Oregano (or marjoram)

Method:

Drain the hominy and rinse.

Put the hominy in the Instant pot and cover it with stock, about 3″ above the hominy.

Cook on the bean function for about 30 minutes if using Rancho Gordo Hominy, 60 minutes if you are using the Mexican Pozole. Check for doneness. It should be somewhat al dente, but not tough or difficult to bite into. Avoid over cooking it to retain integrity of the kernels.

While the hominy is cooking, use a large skillet to toast the chiles in even batches. When toasted, break open and remove seeds and stems. Put them in a blender with the garlic and onion.

When the hominy is cooked, take off about 1 cup of the stock and pour it into the blender and puree the chiles till smooth.

Pour the blender contents into the Instant Pot, stir in oregano and seal. Cook on Bean setting for 15 minutes.

To serve, put some of the chicken into bowls and ladle the pozole over it.

Brunswick Stew is a sassy one pot dish full of flavor. It is however a dish with a questionable heritage. There are three schools of thought on the origin of Brunswick Stew. The first is from Queen Victoria’s adoration of the dish coming from the original Brunswick: Braunschweig, Germany. Next Brunswick, Virginia and the nearby coastal communities in North Carolina claim the dish started there. Finally, Brunswick, Georgia and St. Simons Island, Georgia also say the dish originated there. The two US versions vary slightly. In Virginia the protein is usually chicken. In Georgia it is a mixed plate of smoked chicken, pork and sometimes beef. What is similar in the two recipes is a tomato base with a variety of vegetables. The Georgia version is sassier… more vinegar and more smoke and that is what I am presenting here with a Charleston twist, okra and fresh tomatoes. One more thing, the original versions were made in hunting camps and often contained opossum, squirrel or rabbit, I am NOT going there, but feel free to add them if you wish.

The secret is in the sassy sauce! Yield one gallon. Freezes well or serves a crowd!